The Mission Series: Day Fifteen  Not EasyGreen
by Obi the Kid
Summary: 3rd story in the series, Day Fifteen: It's Not Easy Being Green.


TITLE: The Mission Series – Day Fifteen: It's Not Easy Being Green

AUTHOR: Obi the Kid

RATING: PG

SUMMARY: Pre-TPM. It was a long and boring mission…

FEEDBACK: Yes, please.

ARCHIVE: Ask me first.

The characters and venue of Star Wars are copyrighted to Lucas Films Limited. The characters not recognizable from this venue are copyrighted to Tracy C. Knight. The story is the intellectual property of Tracy C. Knight and is copyrighted to her. She makes no profit from the writing or distribution of this story.

Day Fifteen: It's Not Easy Being Green

They'd eaten over an hour ago during the daily break for lunch and Qui-Gon was actually surprised that there seemed to be a bit of progress being made in the meetings since then. For the first time in two weeks he found himself encouraged about things.

Mayor Algris Surratto currently had the floor. He was a tall man. Stocky. His green eyes clashed against his dark brown skin and black hair. Kept calm, he seemed an apt politician. Aggravated, his voice raised several octaves and became a shrill and irritating sound. Thankfully, things were relaxed at the moment.

The moment ended and Qui-Gon immediately noticed the beginnings of change in the man's voice. The green eyes focused just to the right of the Jedi Master.

Obi-Wan sat quietly, head tilted forward, eyes closed. To the causal observer, the padawan might have seemed to be asleep. Qui-Gon knew that Surratto was working on that assumption and had become irritated because of it. The big Jedi could feel what his apprentice was feeling however and knew the boy wasn't sleeping.

Eventually, Obi-Wan felt the eyes of the room falling on him and pulled his head up. His face had turned a pale shade of green and sweat had dampened his short hair. He spoke slowly to his master beside him. "Master, I don't feel very well."

"Yes, I can see that. One more shade of green, and you'll look just like Yoda. You're going to be sick aren't you?"

Obi-Wan nodded and simply said, "Yes. And soon. The room is beginning to spin. No, that's wrong. It's been spinning for a while. It's just going faster now. Please make it stop."

Grabbing his arm and attempting to help him stand, Qui-Gon called an end to the meetings for the day. "Mayor, Governor, I'm sorry. My apprentice is ill. He could be having a reaction to something he ate for lunch. I need to get him…"

Too late. Obi-Wan's lunch excited his stomach in a most disgusting fashion just missing Surratto who had come to stand in front of him. The carpet and his own tunics were not so fortunate. Obi-Wan groaned once, held his stomach and vomited again. The mayor jumped back, made some sort of screaming noise that sounded like a woman in distress and backed away.

"Come on, Obi-Wan, lets get you out of here before you lose a lung." Qui-Gon put an arm around the padawan's waist and maneuvered him around several chairs. Maltos, the governor's aide, appeared from nowhere and took Obi-Wan's other arm. Together they hurried him to the bathroom down the hall, but not before Obi-Wan had retched again. "Obi-Wan are you trying to leave a trail so you can find your way back?"

"Sorry…" was the only reply the boy could offer as his stomach contracted again.

The bathroom was deserted and Qui-Gon positioned Obi-Wan's head over the commode as he continued to be sick. Maltos stood back, wishing to help, but unsure of what do to. "Master Jinn, what can I offer you to help?"

Qui-Gon was knelt next to his apprentice and he looked up at the slim being standing over them. "If you could get our transport. I'd like to get him back to our suite. And also find out from the café what exactly was in the food they served today. This could be food poisoning or perhaps an allergic reaction. And is there a doctor available?"

"I will have one meet you in your suite as soon as you arrive. You're transport is waiting for you. Can I assist with getting him to the transport?"

"Yes, thank you."

When it seemed that Obi-Wan's stomach was finally empty, they stood him up and rushed for the transport. Obi-Wan's tunics, pants and cloak were a mess. When they arrived at their suite, Qui-Gon didn't let his shaky apprentice stop at the couch. He continued him towards the bathroom. He sat Obi-Wan on the side of the extra large tub while he ran the water warm.

"Obi-Wan, how do you feel now?"

"Master, do you know how you feel after spending an hour being lectured by the Council?"

"Oh. That's bad."

"Imagine spending an entire day with them. This is worse than being run over by a herd of bantha-riding trolls."

Qui-Gon paused for a moment. "What an odd image that is. One that I really don't care to think about either." Then he stripped the apprentice of his foul smelling clothes and helped him into the warm water. "You look like hell."

"Thank you. I feel like hell. I've never been in a bathroom that spins so fast."

"It's your head that's spinning. Not the bathroom."

Obi-Wan leaned his head back against the cool surface of the tub and closed his eyes. He spoke quietly as Qui-Gon bathed his face with a soapy cloth. "What was in that food? It tasted okay. The most edible thing I've had in the two weeks we've been here. And it was the first thing I've eaten that didn't smell like swamp water. Maybe I should have taken that as a bad sign, huh?"

"Maybe. I hope this isn't your way of trying to get out of these meetings." Qui-Gon smiled. "Death by food poisoning is a little dramatic, don't you think?"

A slight laugh escaped the boy's lips, followed closely by an "uh oh."

"Oh damn, not again! Don't throw up in the tub, Obi-Wan, hang on one second." Jinn quickly grabbed the bin he'd found in the kitchen on their way in, and pulled Obi-Wan by the shoulder so that he was leaning over the side of the tub.

"Ouch. That one hurt. I didn't think I had anything else to come up."

"You don't. Look, bile."

"Master! I don't want to look at it!"

"Oh right. Sorry. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling sick? We perhaps could have prevented leaving a trail of vomit all over the main floor of the building. I'm sure they won't be happy trying to get those stains out of the carpet."

"I was trying to quell the problem on my own. It didn't seem all that bad. And then before I knew it, lunch was served for a second time. Not as appetizing this time around though."

A chime sounded at the door. "That must be the doctor. Don't move. I'll be right back."

"Master, I need my clothes."

"Obi-Wan, he's a doctor! He's seen it all before. And you're covered by bubbles anyway. Do not move from that tub."

"Master!"

Not long after, Qui-Gon returned, flanked by an old, hobbling, pale green-skinned man who walked with a hunched back and a cane supporting his right side. Obi-Wan tried to shake the dizziness as he watched the man and thought he looked to be over a hundred standard years. He made Yoda look like a young swamp pup. Nevertheless, the boy hurried to make sure the bubbles were correctly placed in the water.

"Obi-Wan, this is Doctor Mayo."

The man corrected him. "That's May-O. Obi-Wan, it's nice to meet you. Slightly difficult to conduct an examination in the tub however. Would you like to step out?"

"Not unless the bubbles can come with me."

"Excuse me?"

"Could I get dressed first, doctor?"

"Oh, of course. Please go ahead." The doctor made no move to leave the bathroom.

"Could you leave please?"

"No, I'll have to examine you first."

"Yes, but I'd like to get dressed first."

"Yes, you've said so. Please do." Still he did not attempt to leave.

Obi-Wan glanced at his master. Even through his weary eyes, he could see Qui-Gon was enjoying this exchange far too much. "Doctor Mayo…"

"May-O."

"Okay. Vowels and consonants are really not all that important right now are they? I would like to get dressed without an audience. Could you please wait in the main room for me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Certainly. I'll just wait outside then." Finally he left the bathroom.

"Master, that was not funny. How old is that man? Did he not understand what I meant by get out? Or did he just not hear me? That was a hearing assistance device in his ear, wasn't it? Are you sure he's a qualified doctor? And why does he have to be green?"

A smirking Qui-Gon helped Obi-Wan from the tub, wrapping a towel around him and sitting him on a nearby chair, when his legs became unsteady. "Funny or not, I was enjoying myself. You're quite entertaining when you're embarrassed, Padawan."

"Yeah, well I still feel horrible and am not comforted by the fact that a man older than Yoda is the only available doctor around here."

"He's old and you're green. You both are somewhat troll-like. You are…very green. Oh no, not again, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon got the bin to his student just in time.

"Master…"

The older Jedi helped the boy sit up once again and to finish dressing. "Let's get the doctor to look at you so we can figure out what's going on. You're starting to look like death warmed over." He put a hand on the flushed face and forehead. "You're starting to feel like it too."

Obi-Wan was quiet during the exam. Several blood samples were taken and some other simple tests were run. The doctor was uncertain of exactly what was going on, but took his best guess. "Food poisoning would probably not have been limited to just you, so I'm more inclined to think it's an allergic reaction to the food. My best advice, stay away from the food."

"You think so, Mr. Obvious?" Obi-Wan was beyond being patient as the room began to spin again. He was on the verge of becoming a smart mouthed ambassador any second now. "Perhaps you should have studied to become a rocket scientist rather than a doctor."

Qui-Gon slapped a hand over the young mouth and addressed the doctor. "Doctor Mayo…is..."

"May-O."

Pushing the hand away from his face, Obi-Wan tried to continue. "And that's another thing, Doctor May-O…"

The hand returned, followed by a deep glare. Qui-Gon took over the conversation. "Doctor, once we find out what food he reacted to, it's not a problem to keep him away from it, but for now, what do you suggest I do for him?"

"He needs fluids. But I don't know if he can keep them down. Wait an hour. If he's not vomited in that time, start with liquids. If he handles that, move on to a gentle soup. Cool cloths for his fever. Bed rest. He should not attend the negotiations tomorrow."

Obi-Wan smiled around his master's hand.

"I'll give you my comm number. If he gets worse, you can call me."

Once the doctor was gone, Obi-Wan curled his tired body into the couch with several blankets pulled to him. "Doctor May-O, needs to retire. I could have told myself all of those same things. Although I do like the bed rest part."

"Don't sound so cocky, my Padawan. We'll see how you feel tomorrow. And if you miss the meetings in person, you will watch them on the local holo-net. Can't have an unprepared ambassador now can we?"

The boy pouted a look at his teacher and then drew a blanket over his head. "Why do I have feeling that this 'easy' mission is going to last until I'm thirty?"

"The faster you feel better, the shorter this mission will be."

"That's a lie, Master, and you know it." The muffled voice continued from under the blanket. "Master Yoda said three days. It's two weeks now and already you've gained a stalker woman who can't keep her eyes off of her sexy beast. The mayor of this city screams like a woman. The doctor is eight hundred years old. And now I'm allergic to the food needed to keep us alive!"

"Patience, Obi-Wan. We must have patience."

Obi-Wan threw the blanket off of his head. His face flushed green again. "Master…" But it was too late. By the time Qui-Gon turned his attention and grabbed the bin, the mess was made.

Qui-Gon sighed as he rested at the boy's side. "Perhaps you should just sleep in the tub tonight."

"Sorry." The young face was remorseful and beyond tired.

"I know." Offering his sympathy, Qui-Gon brushed a damp cloth across the padawan's forehead. "We just have to make the best of the situation and hope that your stomach settles before you start losing internal organs." He smiled and was glad when Obi-Wan returned it. They got up and began moving slowly to the bathroom.

"Master. Do I look green again?"

Qui-Gon sat him on the chair next to the tub. "Very. I've got the bin this time though," he said cheerfully.

And Obi-Wan's stomach rolled once again. He was really beginning to hate the color green.

END


End file.
